MLB defends replay call that swung game

Updated 10:18 pm, Friday, August 1, 2014

Yoenis Céspedes enters the Fenway Park dugout before the Red Sox played the Yankees, but he didn't get into the game.

Yoenis Céspedes enters the Fenway Park dugout before the Red Sox played the Yankees, but he didn't get into the game.

Photo: Winslow Townson, Associated Press

MLB defends replay call that swung game

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If Yoenis Céspedes didn't know much about the Boston Red Sox while growing up in Cuba, he found the perfect person to teach him all about the history of the franchise and its ballpark.

The ex-A's outfielder, who was traded to Boston for Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes on Thursday, spoke with fellow Cuban and former Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant in the Fenway Park clubhouse before Friday night's game against the New York Yankees.

"I'm very happy to share part of my career with the Red Sox, with such a legendary team," Céspedes said through an interpreter in a pregame meeting with reporters. "The legend of Fenway Park precedes itself."

As Céspedes and outfielder Allen Craig, also acquired in a trade Thursday, arrived, Boston placed Shane Victorino on the disabled list with a lower back strain.

Right call, but ... : Major League Baseball said that it got the replay call right in ruling that Miami Marlins catcher Jeff Mathis illegally blocked the plate during Thursday's 3-1 loss to Cincinnati, but that it took too long.

Initially, plate umpire Mike Winters called Cincinnati's Zack Cozart out at the plate in the eighth, apparently ending the Reds' inning. The 6-minute, 10-second review using the replay system over-ruled the call, making the score 1-1. The call also extended the inning, and Ryan Ludwick then delivered a two-run single.

MLB said Mathis "did not provide a lane to the runner and hindered his path to the plate without possession of the ball." The statement added that the "exorbitant length" of the review was more than three times the season average and "must be avoided in the future."

McAllister, who hasn't won since April 21, is 3-6 with a 5.91 ERA in 14 starts. He won his first three decisions, but is 0-6 with a 7.89 ERA in his past 10 games.

McAllister missed six weeks this season because of a sore back.

Saunders to Orioles: Baltimore signed left-hander Joe Saunders to a minor-league contract after he was released by Kansas City earlier this week. He will report to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday.

Saunders had a 6.75 ERA in four starts for Kansas City's Triple-A affiliate in Omaha. He also went 0-5 with a 6.13 ERA in eight starts for the Texas Rangers this season.

Martinez demoted: Carlos Martinez, a key pitcher in the Cardinals' run to the NL pennant last season, was optioned to Triple-A Memphis as St. Louis added newly acquired pitchers John Lackey and Justin Masterson to the active roster.

Martinez, who pitched in relief last fall, had been in the Cardinals' rotation.